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Florida pompanoRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker70
- Common snook68
- Atlantic tarpon62
- Gray snapper61
- Red drum61
- Black drum55
- Southern flounder54
- Permit52
- Crevalle jack48
- Red snapper47
- Gag grouper46
- Florida pompano45
- Spanish mackerel45
- Spotted seatrout45
- Gray triggerfish43
- Red grouper43
- Greater amberjack39
- King mackerel38
- Sheepshead35
- Cobia34
Best score today · 4 PM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 451 AM EDT
- Best window
- 2-5 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.3 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Southwest Channel scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 1 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
66Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
39Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.9 ftSeason & habitat · Florida pompano
Species seasonality
50Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Florida pompano
Retention open- Daily limit
- 6 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 11 in, fork length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Hook and line, cast net, and beach or haul seine only. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Open year-round in state and federal waters.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Permit, Florida pompano and African pompano, read Sep 13
Other species here
- Atlantic croaker Retention open
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bluefish Retention open (10 per day)
- Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
- Cobia Retention open (1 per day)
- Crevalle jack Retention open
- Gag grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Red snapper Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Florida pompano is best here
Shoulder season for Florida pompano · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Southwest Channel
- Depth
- About 25 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Outer · ExposedChannel · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonFlorida pompano
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.
About this spot
Fishing Southwest Channel
Southwest Channel is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is about 25 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, black drum, southern flounder and permit. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
Tackle & technique
- Florida pompano
- Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.
- Atlantic croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
- Common snook
- Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Passage Key Inlet72
Bay · 2.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Atlantic croaker 64
- Atlantic tarpon 64
5 kt ESEL 4:06 AM · 1.4 ftH 10:19 AM · 2.5 ft
- Egmont Channel70
Channel · 3.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Common snook 66
- Atlantic tarpon 62
5 kt ESEL 4:05 AM · 1.0 ftH 10:27 AM · 2.1 ft
- Soldier Hole68
Bay · 3.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Common snook 67
- Gray snapper 61
5 kt ESEL 4:08 AM · 1.0 ftH 10:36 AM · 2.0 ft
- De Soto Point63
Cape · 3.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 63
- Atlantic croaker 62
- Red drum 57
5 kt ESEL 4:08 AM · 1.0 ftH 10:36 AM · 2.0 ft
Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with FWC before you keep a fish.